unapologetic, saying if the plan -- the plane had not been intercepted, the cargo would have reached syria's defense ministry. moscow has accused turkey of endangering the lives of the russian citizens who were passengers on the plane. syria has also condemned turkey's actions. >> what happened could be described as piracy. turkish air piracy against a civilian syrian plane on a regular flight from moscow to damascus. >> these suspicious cargo was confiscated. after several hours, the plane was allowed to finish its journey to damascus. ankara has now told turkish airlines not to fly planes through syrian airspace, saying it is too dangerous. >> for more on this, we go live to thomas on the line for us from istanbul. put this incident into perspective for us. what does it mean for to keep's role in the syrian conflict now -- turkey's role in the syrian conflict? >> turkey is getting ever deeper into the syrian conflict. we have the first incident on turkish soil where turkey took action against another state. there was a similar case last year when they stopped an iranian plane on its way to syria.